Pardee shares history, celebrates 60 years

Published: Friday, November 15, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, November 15, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.

When Pardee Hospital first opened its doors, the emergency room had only one treatment table.

Dr. William Lampley, one of the hospital's first surgeons, shared the hospital's history Friday at Pardee's 60th Anniversary Celebration.

“I remember well this day, Nov. 15 in 1953,” Lampley said. “We had looked forward to it for a long time.”

Patton Memorial had served its purpose for many years, Lampley recalled, but the needs of the community had grown to be too great.

He was among the group of roughly 20 doctors to make the transition to Pardee when it opened. Lampley said he is the only member of the original hospital staff still alive.

“On Christmas Day, I was (caring) for a young man with severe burns... when Dr. Raiford burst through the door carrying a young child which was limp, blue and not breathing,” Lampley said, “I looked around a second, told the burn patient to sit up and with the child across the end of the table, I made an incision and rapidly got a breathing tube in place.”

The child began breathing again, but Lampley said it had become quite clear that Pardee would need more than one treatment bed.

Despite their limited emergency room space, Lampley said everyone was well taken care of. As the need in the community need increased, the hospital continued expanding.

“As things progressed, so did the needs progress,” Lampley said. “Today, we have 32 beds in the emergency facility.”

In August, Pardee earned the highest rating for surgical care by Consumer Reports.

“There were two hospitals to receive those red dots, us and a specialty hospital in Durham,” Pardee surgeon Dr. Stuart Glassman said. “We were above Duke, we were above Chapel Hill, all of them; we were No.1 in the state — that's astounding.”

Glassman said the biggest change that he has noticed at Pardee since he started in 1987 is that they are now able to offer many of their surgeries as out-patient procedures.

“I think the community is very fortunate to have the best hospital in the country and certainly a surgical care facility that is second to none,” Lampley said in closing.

<p>When Pardee Hospital first opened its doors, the emergency room had only one treatment table. </p><p>Dr. William Lampley, one of the hospital's first surgeons, shared the hospital's history Friday at Pardee's 60th Anniversary Celebration.</p><p>“I remember well this day, Nov. 15 in 1953,” Lampley said. “We had looked forward to it for a long time.”</p><p>Patton Memorial had served its purpose for many years, Lampley recalled, but the needs of the community had grown to be too great.</p><p>He was among the group of roughly 20 doctors to make the transition to Pardee when it opened. Lampley said he is the only member of the original hospital staff still alive. </p><p>“On Christmas Day, I was (caring) for a young man with severe burns... when Dr. Raiford burst through the door carrying a young child which was limp, blue and not breathing,” Lampley said, “I looked around a second, told the burn patient to sit up and with the child across the end of the table, I made an incision and rapidly got a breathing tube in place.” </p><p>The child began breathing again, but Lampley said it had become quite clear that Pardee would need more than one treatment bed.</p><p>Despite their limited emergency room space, Lampley said everyone was well taken care of. As the need in the community need increased, the hospital continued expanding.</p><p>“As things progressed, so did the needs progress,” Lampley said. “Today, we have 32 beds in the emergency facility.”</p><p>In August, Pardee earned the highest rating for surgical care by Consumer Reports.</p><p>“There were two hospitals to receive those red dots, us and a specialty hospital in Durham,” Pardee surgeon Dr. Stuart Glassman said. “We were above Duke, we were above Chapel Hill, all of them; we were No.1 in the state — that's astounding.”</p><p>Glassman said the biggest change that he has noticed at Pardee since he started in 1987 is that they are now able to offer many of their surgeries as out-patient procedures. </p><p>“I think the community is very fortunate to have the best hospital in the country and certainly a surgical care facility that is second to none,” Lampley said in closing. </p><p>Reach Bindewald at 694-7891 or renee.bindewald@blueridgenow.com.</p>